Menu planning

This week is totally up in the air at this point.  Yesterday we ended up having leftover pizza from saturday when my mom watched the kids and that messed up my leftover night (tonight) and I just haven't sat down to really think about this weeks cooking.
Here goes off the cuff:
monday: crockpot chicken, parmesan noodles, broccoli
tuesday: I am undecided but maybe I will get adventurous and try something from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook which I just borrowed from my mother in law
wednesday: leftovers from tuesday or a big green salad with all the fixings- chicken, boiled egg, cheese, etc...
thursday: meatloaf, potatoes of some sort
friday: friend cooks
saturday: we are having pizza for lunch at a birthday party so maybe just a  movie night which means popcorn, cheese, crackers, summer sausage, apples

That sounds pretty good to me for just coming up with it on the fly.  I can't remember if I mentioned in my March goal or not but something I really want to do is try new dishes and if I am ambitious, I would like to try a new one every week.
This week I also plan on making  raspberry scones (made some sunday but took them all to the potluck so didn't get to enjoy them) and maybe some more zucchini bread or cinnamon rolls which were a huge hit and probably some cookies as I am trying to buy less of that sort of thing and make more homemade stuff.
Happy eating!

March

Here we are on the 3rd day of March and I haven't really gotten into my goal for this month yet.  I have sort of started on it but not thoroughly.
While I am still going to work on digging into the Word, and continue to be intentional about my sugar intake, I want to be intentional about my cooking.
With couponing, the idea is you stock up on stuff while it is on sale and plan meals accordingly.  I have been stocking up but I still by regular groceries for some things instead of going into my "stash" to shop.  Obviously, things have a limited shelf life so I need to be better about rotating it through and I need to be better about using my freezer stuff b/c come June, we will start adding berries to our freezer and it really needs to be cleaned by then.  That means I need to start being better about eating the food that is in there.
Plus, my kids seem to have gotten pickier if that is even remotely possible.  Making meals has become not a fun thing as my kids turn their noses up at most things.  My son is pretty good about trying stuff and he will actually eat beef which is nice.  My middle girl will try stuff and eat some of it but not everything.  My youngest however, now has a repertoire of about 5 foods and this includes pizza, quesadillas, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, and plain chicken.  So you can see my frustration and lack of joy when it comes to cooking. 
But, I my goal for this month is to meal plan.  To have things ready so I am not scrambling at 5:00 to figure out what to eat.  I also plan to involve my kids more in the hope that they will be more willing to try stuff.  Basically I just need to get organized.
So here is my meal plan for this week (and yes I know it is thursday but thought I would put stuff out there in case anyone wants recipes or to give you ideas)
Monday: Garlic chicken with broccoli and brown rice - this is a yummy weight watchers recipe that is super easy and so good.  I had forgotten about it (another reason to be organized with menu planning)
Tuesday: leftovers for hubby and I, the kids had noodles with either red sauce or Zesty Italian
Wednesday: beef tacos
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: crockpot pot roast with potatoes and carrots
            I am also making sausage biscuits for a shower saturday morning
Saturday: the kids are gone so we will be eating out :-)
Sunday: the main meal will be planned for next week but I need an Irish dish for a church potluck so if anybody has any suggestions, I am open to them.

I know we have a lot of leftovers.  That is something I am thinking about changing and if I can get organized I will.  But on the days I work, it is really hard to come home and cook so I usually make extra when I cook on Sundays and Tuesdays (for mondays and wednesdays -friday we have people over so that varies but if I am cooking, I try to do it on thursday)
Hopefully I will post next weeks meals on Sunday.  One thing my family did was sit down and make a list of foods we want for this month.  Another way to get the kids involved and make them feel they have input.
Happy March everyone!

Where Did February Go?

I know it is a short month but it went by really really fast this year.  Normally, I love February.  Coming off the long dreary month of January, it is usually a relief to me.  But this year not so much.  It wasn't a great month and I am glad it is over.
I haven't been blogging and I think part of it is because too much happened, I didn't have time or know where to begin and I didn't do so well on my February goal.  I started strong, reading 1 John but fizzled pretty quickly.  I have gotten through chapter 3.  This morning (as I was finishing chapter 3) I read this in John Courson's Commentary of the New Testament:
     "When our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts.  He knows all things.  He knows we are made of dust, that we make promises we can't keep, and that we are bound to fall and fail.  Yet He also knows that we are His and that He has a glorious plan for our lives."
Just when I was pondering my failures, God finds a way to reassure me.  It is really easy to condemn ourselves when we fail or compare ourselves to others and their accomplishments.  What a relief to know that God doesn't do that to us.  He already knows what we are going to do, yet He loves us anyway. 
When I was digging into the Bible, I did really enjoy it.  It was a nice change from just trying to finish reading the Bible.  This is something I am definitely going to keep working on.  And if you are looking for a good Bible Commentary I would recommend John Courson's Commentaries.  My husband got them for Christmas this year and I have really enjoyed them.  Plus, I have heard him preach several times and his teachings are solid and he is great to listen to.  I think his sermons are also on the radio.  He is our current pastor's brother and head of Applegate Christian Fellowship in Southern Oregon. 
And on to March...

My girl turns 4!

How did my baby go from this... 

and this...

to this...



I cannot believe she is 4!  It happened way too quickly!

Happy birthday to my sweet pea!

Thanks

For everyone's prayers for us dealing with our poor kitty.   The girls have handled it pretty well, my son...well I think with him being older had a little more difficult of a time and asked when we could go visit "the stones".  I think I am going to end up with some "stones" in my backyard.

I have been thinking a lot about death lately.  This has been a year of 3's for me.  An uncle died last summer, then a cousin's husband over Christmas, and yesterday another uncle died.  They were all different circumstances with different beliefs and I am just so grateful for having a relationship with God.  That I know there is more to life than this.  My uncle who died yesterday was full of bitterness and anger and hate.  He was actually not a nice man at all.  But he was family and my mom is grieving and I am sorry for his life.  Sorry he couldn't see anything more than how unfair life was and how it treated him poorly.  It makes me sad to think he died alone, not knowing the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, what Christ did for us.  And it makes me realize as I talk to my brother who is not a Christian, that I need to pray.  For some reason it is really hard for me to pray for his salvation or the salvation of my dad.  I will admit that I don't have faith that it will happen.  I can't even imagine them changing.  But my belief doesn't matter.  The place I need to start with is on my knees.

So I am going to try to be a better prayer warrior for my family because life can be sooo ugly, but it doesn't have to be.  It can be beautiful and full of grace and mercy and compassion and it's sad that they don't see that.

On the flip side of all of this is my beautiful daughter.

Who yesterday prayed with her daddy to accept Jesus into her heart.  She has been telling us for a year that she did it privately to herself but yesterday something changed in her heart and she wanted to pray it out loud.  I am sad that I wasn't there but so grateful that she was with her dad and took this big step.  And I am so grateful to our God who is always faithful to remind us of hope amidst sadness and death.

My Couponing Strategies

I have had some people recently ask me how I coupon.  So I thought I would do a little series on how I do it.
     There are lots of great couponing sites out there where I have gleaned information from.  I will say right upfront that I am not an extreme couponer.  I don't clear shelves, I don't buy 20 of anything, I don't dumpster dive for coupons or buy 4 sunday papers or buy coupons off of ebay.  I am a middle of the road couponer.  I work outside of the home so I want to be a good steward of my time at home as well as my money.  And couponing can take a lot of time if you aren't careful.
     First though, I am going to talk budget.  I used to have no idea how much I spent on groceries.  I used coupons sometimes, I bought things when I saw them on sale but if I felt I really needed it, and it wasn't on sale, I would go ahead and buy it.  I used my debit card always.
     A few years ago, my husband set up a spreadsheet to track expenses (remember, he is the spreadsheet king) and it started giving us a better idea of how much we spent.  It was all over the place though.  Some months it would be $500, some $800.  It was crazy.  It wasn't unheard of for us to go to Costco and spend $200.  I will add, that at the time we were buying diapers and formula which is a big expense.  At one time, I had 2 kids in diapers and 1 in pullups at night.  That does really add up. 
     Then we started on the cash system.  My original grocery budget was $600/month.  This was for groceries and toiletries.  We did this for a year or 2. 
     Then, about a year ago, we started thinking more about trying to pay off our car and school loans.  That's when I got interested in really couponing.  I was reading blogs and seeing what people were budgeting for groceries.  The rule of thumb seemed to b $50 per person per month.  $250 a month.  I didn't think I could go from $600 to $250.  That's kind of crazy.  So I settled on $400, $100 per adult, $50 per kid, plus $50 for miscellaneous things like animals. 
     Here's the thing though.  It is really easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to what others are spending.  People have all sorts of different needs.  For example, my son is allergic to peanuts.  That counts out a lot of inexpensive, coupon friendly foods.  Instead of peanut butter which you can find super cheap, I buy lunch meat which isn't.  Instead of granola bars, again that you can find super cheap, I buy cereal bars which aren't quite as inexpensive.  So, you may be gluten free.  That adds a lot to your budget.  And that's okay.  Or you may buy only organic, that is great!  I wish I was there.  My goal is to eventually buy more organic stuff but I haven't gotten there yet.
     I love this post by Laura: our-real-food-grocery-budget because she puts it into perspective.  This is someone who used to spend $100 on groceries per month with couponing.  Now she grows a huge garden, grinds her own flour, eats organic meats and produce and dairy.  So her budget is higher and you know what?  She is okay with that.  She knows her family is eating healthier and that is more important. 
     So, do what you have to do.  Look at your budget.  You may be able to find places where you can cut back.  Toiletries is a big one.  I used to spend a ton on toilet paper, soap, toothpaste.  But I now save a lot on that stuff.  Because, there are things that I won't do without foodwise,  there are things I will spend more money on.  I wil tell you what they are later.
Next time, I will show you my system for couponing.  It's not perfect but it works for me. 

February

I started thinking about my February goal as soon as I started my January one.  I started feeling a little panicky that I didn't have my year mapped out.  But that is sort of the point of monthly goals isn't it?  To see where I am at the time and build on that.  So I calmed myself down and decided to focus on one month at a time.  Knowing and trusting that God will lead me where I need to go.
And really as soon as I started thinking about February, there were signs in lots of places.
Craving God.
I am trying to curtail my sweet cravings.  I am limiting how much sugar I take in.  Trying to break the habit of using dessert as my emotional go-to response.  But I need something to replace it.  I need God.  Quite frankly, I have been apathetic about getting closer to God.  Not in the prayer sense.  I feel God has been working on me with that part of my life for some time. 
But reading the Bible.  Learning more about Him.  Trying to understand His words.  I have been slacking lately.
One of the Christian radio stations (K-Love or Air1, can't remember which) has been talking about getting rid of addictions and craving God instead.  My friend Kelleigh has been challenging people to read the  Bible-in-90-Days, and then our women's winter retreat where our pastor's wife brought up a verse that coincided as well (for the life of me I can't remember it).  I know I need to rededicate my time to reading the Bible.  I have read the Bible through a couple of times.  I am currently on a 4 year plan:-)  But I feel I need more.  I really need more understanding.  I need to sit down and study the Bible.  I have been blessed with going to a private Christian schools since 6th grade.  I am super grateful for that background but I want to learn more.  It has been a long time since I have studied the Bible outside of church.
So that is my February goal.  To study the Bible.  I have been trying to figure out where to start with all of it.  I was reminded of our pastor talking about reading the Bible and he said to just pick a book and start.  You don't have to start at Genesis or Matthew, just pick one. 
As we are studying the book of John on Sundays, I have been reminded of how much I love his writings.  His books talk a lot about the love and grace of God.  I even took a Writings of John class in college because I love the books so much.  So I am going to revisit them.  Starting with 1 John.  I already read through all three books this morning.  Now I want to sit down and dive in. Take notes.  Read commentaries.  Really study it.  I am really excited about this.
The second thing I am going to do is start a Bible study with my husband.  We have done devotionals together and gone to Bible studies, but have never really done one ourselves.  He suggested it and I think it is a great idea for us. 
So there you have it.  Month number 2.  And you know my mind is already thinking towards March:-)